Playback and subtitles issues through Fire TV (and Chromecast)

[iNSPiREDS 0]

Hi,

 

I noticed the subtitles issue has been reported before. The solution apparently is installing the Beta app for the Fire TV but I'm still waiting on an invite.

 

 

As for the playback issues, I thought it would be easier to show you what I've been experiencing. I made two videos trying to play the same content: one through the Fire TV Emby app, the other through the Emby app for Android Chromecasting the film to my TV instead.

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jrZry3QoVd6SPV1z9

 

I've also tried fiddling with the playback streaming options and changing the bitrate to 10 or 5 but it doesn't help much as the issues persist. I have them all the options on Auto just now (Video Quality set to Auto for Home network quality, Internet quality, chromecast streaming quality).

 

Any help would be much appreciated since I can't seem to watch anything flawlessly using Emby just now.

 

Thanks.

embyserver.txt

ffmpeg-remux-38470f1d-31fc-422a-8ba3-5b4d825aa3be_1.txt

Edited March 5, 2019 by iNSPiREDS

[ebr 14910]

Hi.  Is the playback device on the same network as the server?  As you found, the playback issues appear to be bitrate related.

 

Can you also try disabling transcode throttling in the server settings and see if that makes a difference?

[iNSPiREDS 0]

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, all my devices are connected to the same home network.

I'll try that and see how it goes. I'll post an update soon.

[iNSPiREDS 0]

Hi.  Is the playback device on the same network as the server?  As you found, the playback issues appear to be bitrate related.

 

Can you also try disabling transcode throttling in the server settings and see if that makes a difference?

 

 

I tried disabling throttling in the Transcode settings but unfortunately haven't noticed a difference.

I also had "Allow subtitle extraction on the fly" which is described as possibly having an impact on video playback.

Unfortunately, this too, doesn't seem to have made a difference.

Is there an easy way to my server settings to whatever the default was and then just go from there?

[ebr 14910]

It may simply be that your network connection has interference that doesn't allow high bitrate playback.

 

As for re-setting to defaults, other than re-installing from scratch, no...

[iNSPiREDS 0]

When playing any media from the external HDD directly - say, by using the VLC app on the Fire TV box - there's no trouble whatsoever. No hiccups, no buffering, no nothing, it just plays, even the "high bitrate" files that Emby struggles to play.

I take it this is due to Emby transcoding the media. Why does it do so instead of playing the file from the hard drive?

 

Thanks.

[ebr 14910]

In your example above, it was due to unsupported audio (DTS).  But the only thing being converted was the audio so it shouldn't have been very taxing.

[iNSPiREDS 0]

I see. I have a simple 2.1 ch soundbar hooked up to the TV which doesn't support DTS, nothing fancy.

I have a 76 Mbps connection which usually translates into 50 Mbps+ over Wi-Fi consistently across the house. No other service struggles on a bandwidth level.

If Emby has to transcode the audio every time I try to play a file with DTS audio (or any type of unsupported audio/video) which we're suspecting causes the lag I'm experiencing, how come every other app/source/device is able to play everything flawlessly?

My go-to solution at the moment is to open the VLC app for the Amazon Fire TV and just browse through my network and open the file directly. Why is it that that works fine and doesn't need to transcode anything (or if it does, it does it flawlessly with no lag in sight)?

To be clear, I'm not ranting, just trying to understand the reason behind the problem so I can address it.

[ebr 14910]

If you only have a stereo soundbar, then I would set the "Audio" setting in the app's playback settings to "Downmix to Stereo" and you will see a lot more direct play.

[iNSPiREDS 0]

There seems to be no such option under Playback settings, only to choose the default language I want to load, or the Audio bitrate which I have set to Auto.

 

But still, what is it that VLC (running on the Fire TV) or even the LG TV's own software does that is able to play everything on the fly that Emby somehow is unable to do? What am I missing here?

[ebr 14910]

There seems to be no such option under Playback settings, only to choose the default language I want to load, or the Audio bitrate which I have set to Auto.

 

But still, what is it that VLC (running on the Fire TV) or even the LG TV's own software does that is able to play everything on the fly that Emby somehow is unable to do? What am I missing here?

 

 

[iNSPiREDS 0]

I see, it's only available on the Fire TV. I assumed it'd be available across all my devices.

I tried changing that and it doesn't seem to have helped unfortunately.

 

Playing media on my phone seems to work fine as well. Was trying First Man and under video settings, it says "Auto - Direct".

Tried reinstalling both the server and also the Fire TV app to no avail, no change in performance (settings were reset on both).

 

If Emby has to transcode the audio every time I try to play a file with DTS audio (or any type of unsupported audio/video) which we're suspecting causes the lag I'm experiencing, how come every other app/source/device is able to play everything flawlessly?

My go-to solution at the moment is to open the VLC app for the Amazon Fire TV and just browse through my network and open the file directly. Why is it that that works fine and doesn't need to transcode anything (or if it does, it does it flawlessly with no lag in sight)?

[ebr 14910]

1) Emby was not transcoding your video.  It was only converting the audio which is not a very intensive operation

 

2) If you changed that setting to "Downmix to Stereo" as I suggested, then the item should have direct played after that (unless there was some other factor like unsupported subtitles).

 

Can you please confirm how the item was playing (stats for nerds in the app will tell you exactly) after you changed that setting and post any ffmpeg log that was created?

 

Thanks.

[iNSPiREDS 0]

Ah OK I see.

 

So, good news is I figured out that selecting a lower bitrate was causing Emby to have to transcode the media on the fly both video and audio.

Resetting it back to Auto now has it just playing the file directly without the need to transcode anything. 

 

Bad news is that it still stutters badly. Playing the same thing on the Android app works fine.

Any ideas?

 

ffmpeg-transcode-091ff78e-1c73-4b3e-b1d9-15589655dfce_1.txt

[ebr 14910]

It's hard to know exactly what you mean by "stutters" but my guess would be that the bitrate of that item is just too high for the device.  Most Fire TV devices publish a max bitrate of about 21Mb/s.

[iNSPiREDS 0]

I see. That's helpful.

I noticed that, for whatever reason, the Fire TV was connected to my 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi as opposed to my 5Ghz one. This has happened before but it must have reset again for whatever reason.

I've since set up the router differently so that the Fire TV is now effectively connected to the 5Ghz one.

No noticeable difference yet. I also installed Plex for the first time to see how it runs the same media, and the struggle is the same.

I'll try and stick to lower bitrate files, and may consider getting the Fire TV ethernet adaptor.

I'll post my experience here later for anyone who has the same issue.

[ebr 14910]

I see. That's helpful.

I noticed that, for whatever reason, the Fire TV was connected to my 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi as opposed to my 5Ghz one. This has happened before but it must have reset again for whatever reason.

I've since set up the router differently so that the Fire TV is now effectively connected to the 5Ghz one.

No noticeable difference yet. I also installed Plex for the first time to see how it runs the same media, and the struggle is the same.

I'll try and stick to lower bitrate files, and may consider getting the Fire TV ethernet adaptor.

I'll post my experience here later for anyone who has the same issue.

 

Sounds good.  Let us know how you get on.

 

However, realize that Fire devices are designed for one purpose - to stream Amazon content.  And that content is never going to be over about 20Mb/s.  So, regardless of the network connection, some of these devices may struggle with content at higher bitrates (will be interesting to know the results of your trial though).

 

Thanks.